I seem unable to play with a controller. Like my brain is not wired this way. Any help?

I got a very nice gift from a friend of mine a couple of months ago, he got me a PS4 and some very cool and exciting games (The Last of Us, Spiderman, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn). I know, he's a good friend.

Also, I know these games are masterpieces and I was very excited to play them.

Unfortunately, I really can't navigate with a controller. Like, I really can't without focusing hard on it, and taking me out of the gaming experience. Is it just practice?

I want to get the hang of it but I am not sure if it's just a phase or I just cant.

Thanks!

Just practice! Practice! Humans are very adaptive. If it's something millions of other humans can do without any trouble chances are you can do it too.

Maybe start by playing something like a diving game, or some other type of game where a controller is more intuitive. Just don't try to do it while playing a game you really want to play or you risk ruining the experience.

Had to give up on Spider-Man as my first game when I got a pa4 pro two years ago for the same reason, as a pc player I sucked with a controller... instead I started up Persona 5, which is a turn based rpg and hence doesn’t require any quick handling with the controller. Afterwards i was comfortable enough with the controller to beat Spider-Man without any issues:) so maybe find a slower game to get used to the controller would be the solution?

It takes time. I couldn't use a controller for fps for till I was like 16.

I relate to this so much except with keyboard & mouse. After using a controller/handheld to play games my whole life, trying to use kb/m just feels so foreign and awkward to me. I just can't get the hang of it at all. So with what little PC gaming I do I always gotta end up using a controller. But yeah, the only thing I think either of us can do is just keep playing until things start to click. I know my first time playing a FPS (which was with a controller) was pretty rough, but by end of the first game I played I had it down pretty well.

I think I will take the advice here and just play some other games that don't rely on movement so much. I think Spider Man is the final boss for me on this one.

I totally get it - growing up a PC gamer I just never find controllers as natural except in games like platformers or racing games.

However, you will get used to it - and good at it - with practice. Persevere!

One suggestion: play with the vertical analog inversion and the rotational sensitivity. Some people (who are wrong, lol) prefer to tip the camera down by pulling the analog backwards. Others (us cool guys) understand that like a PC Joystick the only correct way to look down is to push the analog stick forward ;-). But in seriousness, regardless of your preference, having the vertical aligned with what feels natural can make a HUGE difference. Similarly, playing with the rotational sensitivity can make a big difference. Often I find the default settings either way too twitchy or really insensitive. It's worth taking a minute at the start of the game to tweak the sensitivity to your tastes IMO